[morzh]

So they were using tin in them. Tin does whisker if not mixed with other metals. They used it in these transistors.


Cool looking, yes. But it does not really say anything bad about Ge in transistors.

The problem was, they at the time (the Ge were the first transistors in use) used tin to plate the walls of the can. And the whiskers grow from them. But not from Ge crystal. Same would happen to early Si transistors should they be in the same cans.

But they were a later technology and fewer of them ended up in tinned cans and more got molded plastic casings.
Also not all Ge transistors are in such cans.

Since they are very popular in Russia with amateurs today (and this is way more widespread hobby there than it is here) I went to look for any evidence of problems with old stock.....I failed to find any....and the size of that stock is huge.

Again, maybe they did not use tin plating there.....though I think they might. I remember opening a few, they looked like copper (the cut was red) plated with something that could be tin, or tin-led.

Again, Ge has nothing to do with it.


PS. Just went to look for info in English.
Seems like this problem plagued AF11x (114, 117) tin-plated series of Ge transistors.